RecycleMania began in mid January for a 10
week period. Running parallel to the college basketball season,
colleges and universities are participating in a competition
that increases recycling participation by students and staff,
and raises awareness about the significance of waste reduction
programs on campuses.

From January 17 through March 27, 607 schools representing 49
states, the District of Columbia and Canada will compete in 8
categories to see who recycles the most on a per capita basis,
who produces the least amount of waste and who recycles the largest
percentage of their overall waste stream. Colleges and universities
choose to participate in either the formal competition which
ranks them based on standardized weight measurements, or as part
of the less formal “Benchmark” division. In both cases, schools
submit weight data for paper, cardboard, cans and bottles, food
waste and general trash each week, and are in turn able to see
how they measure up against each other in the continuously updated
results.

Indeed, RecycleMania is about more than simply winning. It is
an opportunity for schools to raise awareness of their campus
recycling programs as well as waste reduction and conservation
issues in general. And, of course, it’s also about simply recycling
more. In 2009, 510 participating colleges and universities collected
over 69.4 million pounds of recyclables and compostable organics.

The RecycleMania competition began in 2001 as a challenge between
Miami University of Ohio and Ohio University. Today, it is independently
owned and governed by the RecycleMania Steering Committee, which
is made up of recycling managers from five participating universities.

The 2010 RecycleMania competition is administered by national
nonprofit KAB in conjunction with the Environmental Protection
Agency’s WasteWise program. The competition is made possible
with the sponsorship support of The Coca-Cola Company, KAB and
the American Forest & Paper Association.

RecycleMania has grown to 607 colleges and universities this
year, increasing by almost 100 the number of participating schools
from 2009. These colleges and universities represent more than
five million students, and 1.3 million faculty and staff from
49 states, the District of Columbia and Canada.

The states with the most participants include Pennsylvania (52),
Texas (42), Massachusetts (42), California (40) and New York
(37). The list of institutions taking part is diverse, ranging
from Brigham Young University to Yale University to Labette Community
College in Parsons, Kansas. RecycleMania 2010 will include all
12 of the athletic Southeastern Conference universities as well
as the 8 campuses that make up the Los Angeles Community College
system.